Middle Smithfield strip club advertised as 'open' with site legalities still not finalized

Tuesday

Feb 18, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 18, 2014 at 4:42 PM

Two new signs at the Werry's Motel property — emblazoned with "Go Go Danny's" — has some residents wondering if owner Bob Spano Sr. opened a strip club there before the facility receives final site plan approval.

DAVID PIERCE

Two new signs at the Werry's Motel property — emblazoned with "Go Go Danny's" — has some residents wondering if owner Bob Spano Sr. opened a strip club there before the facility receives final site plan approval.

Middle Smithfield Township Zoning Officer Shawn McGlynn said Werry's is being cited for an illegal sign in the Route 209 commercial zone.

"They're advertising a use which is not permitted," McGlynn said. "We have started enforcement on the illegal use."

McGlynn said he is consulting with the township's attorney, Michael Gaul, before deciding whether to cite Werry's for violating the township zoning code as well.

"Danny's" is a likely reference to Dan Russo, who proposed opening a female nude dance club at the Werry's property.

Spano, then a township supervisor, cast the decisive 2011 vote approving the strip location on his own property, a decision being challenged by a group of township residents in a Monroe County Court suit.

The land development plan — showing the facilities, parking, drainage and buffers from neighbors — has yet to win approval. Russo agreed to wait until at least March for the site plan decision, while the lawsuit trying to overturn the original approval plays out.

The current supervisors' board is supporting efforts to overturn the original township approval.

Spano refused comment Monday afternoon about the sign or the strip club status, charging that past Pocono Record stories have been biased against him.